Researching my genealogy and reading Nathaniel Philbrick’s latest book about the American Revolutionary War can lead me in all sorts of directions. This is fascinating. Waterbury Connecticut to Clinton New York at the very western edge of the American frontier – they were my ancestors. And really not all that long ago. Brave frontier men and women creating and carving the American dream out of the wilderness.
Foote Document June 19, 2016
Gravestone Moss May 21, 2016
I’m not sure how you could identify this gravestone in Lancaster Massachusetts as marking the burial place for John Priest, my 7X Great Grandfather. The grave marker dates from the early 1700’s. Think of the weathering due to 300 years of New England seasons. There is a certain visual and symbolic beauty to the stone.
Captain William French March 16, 2016
Captain William French came from England to America at the age of 32 with his wife and 4 children. They sailed on the Defence on July 18, 1635 They settled in Boston/Cambridge for a few years and later moved to Billerica. 
cementery in Billerica where Capt French was buried in 1681
Tracing Another Immigrant February 4, 2016
My 10th great-grandfather Sir John Drake was born in England in 1585. At age 45 he sailed for America on the “Mary and John” and landed at Nantasket just north of Boston. He became a Freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Later he settled in the area just north of Hartford. He died in 1659 and is buried in Palisado Cemetery In Windsor Connecticut.
Following The Pilgrims January 31, 2016
What a marvelous program we saw last night. One of the best. It was a PBS DVD from the American Experience series. Most of the broad outline was familiar but this film portrayed it so well that it is now more firmly fixed in my mind (I hope!) And I learned a lot as well. Furthermore it tied in well with my genealogy research.
?Did you know that one of the men on the Mayflower was swept overboard but miraculously was rescued and went on to survive the first harsh winter etc and father 10 children. He had 88 grandchildren, more than 500 great grandchildren and his subsequent descendants number in the tens of thousands – including Humphrey Bogart, Bob Hope, and both Bush Presidents. I wonder if I can find myself among the millions of descendants living today. The search goes on.
My 8X Great Grandmother = Hanged As A Witch January 26, 2016
It is rather a shattering discovery regarding one of my ancestors my 8X Great Grandmother.
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Henry Ingalls, 1586-1648 October 3, 2015
Henry Ingalls – buried in the Old North Parish Burying Ground. Andover Massachusetts
I wish I had been able to visit this cemetery when I was in New England. Henry is just one of my many ancestors buried in New England soil. He was my Great Grandfather. His father, Edmund Ingalls, was born in Lincolnshire England. He left England for America arriving in Salem in 1629. He resided in Lynn from that time until his death in 1648, age 62.
How many other ancestors came to America in the early 1600″s? I intend to try to find them and to establish their circumstances when they made the decision to emigrate.
Janet's thread 